The Blue Mountains has historically been a drawcard for artists, with a long list of acclaimed practitioners from all art disciplines making the Mountains their home and basing their studios in the region.
That fact is being celebrated with the inaugural Blue Mountains Cultural Centre Collection on show now until July 24.
The Cultural Centre has been actively building a public art collection since March 2014 with the intent of preserving and documenting the visual art practice that the region inspires.
Through the generosity of many in the community, the collection has now reached a size that allows it to be curated and displayed in the first Collection exhibition.
Blue Mountains Cultural Centre Director Paul Brinkman aims to show The Collection annually.
“The Collection exhibition is a great achievement for the Blue Mountains Cultural Centre,” he said.
Mr Brinkman said it aimed to “showcase new acquisitions and the people of the Blue Mountains can watch as the collection grows in size and reputation”.
Works by Wendy Sharpe, Joan Ross and Peter Kingston celebrate the many facets of the Mountains unique social character while works by Andrew Merry, Michael Mandelc and John Caldwell capture the grandeur of the vistas in the area.
There are 90 works in the collection – when they reach 100 works the option will be there to tour it around the country.
An Archibald prize winner, Ms Sharpe, said she was “delighted to have my etchings included in the Blue Mountains Cultural Centre Collection – courtesy of Anne Smith and Falls Gallery. It is already an exciting collection with some wonderful works on paper.”
The Cultural Centre also has the Archibald Prize winners for 2015 on display now. This is the final place to see the 2015 winning entries. Details on 4780 5410.
